I got an email announcement that Hotpatterns is now offering epatterns and while they are less expensive, the one element that makes me go...ehhh....not sure..is the inclusion of printsew in the equation.
After enjoying the ability to purchase epatterns from Burda and Colette, & the fabric.com freebies as .pdf files, I know I like this as an option already. Another thing that's making me wary is an absolutely scathing review of printsew from one of the blogs I keep up and all the confirming messages in the commentary of that post.
Has anyone had any real problems with printsew? I admit I'd MUCH rather have a file to download vs. printing on the spot and only having 3 times to do it. I don't think I will bite on this, but just curious.

I tried one today and the printsew was indeed a bit of a PITA; downloaded the necessary software and nothing happened. There's nothing that intuitive about it but I closed my browser and signed in again, it was suddenly all there and it printed beautifully. I'm ok with 3 downloads in a year . . . really, if you lose pieces of your printed Vogue pieces, you're off to buy a new pattern, so this seems fair to me.

I was so happy to see Hot Patterns offer e-patterns, and I was ready to purchase until I saw it's through printsew.com which is such a pain to use. It's clunky and there are so many down sides to it. Not good at all. In theroy it works, but in practise I've found it such a pain and the print-out quality is horrible. Not to mention the restrictions on the pattern after you buy it. Give me a .pdf file on my computer any day that I actually own.

While I understand the reasoning behind using printsew.com, my frustration with printsew.com is greater than my desire for new patterns so I'll give these a miss for the moment. Pity!!

Oh so the output isn't so great either? bummer. Yeah, I was poised to try my first HP since it was going to be less and as a user of pattern software..no big deal to print out and assemble on paper that holds up to manhandling and alts.
I noticed HP did had one epattern .pdf as a trial for quite a long time, but I didn't get it because it was..well...not so hot as a style, not because it was a .pdf. I wonder if they didn't go with that format because they didn't recoup the cost of producing it?
I do hope that other indies will follow the examples of Colette and Burda and use the .pdfs.

The assembling of the pattern itself is easy. It's everything else that bothers me.

You must "register" your computer before you print and you can then only print from this one computer. If you upgrade computers or your hard drive dies you must re-set your account and re-register, and you can apparently only do this a total of three times. I've been a printsew member for six years so guess who is on their last re-set?

You can only print to a printer that is physically connected by cable to your registered computer. You can't print through a home network or wi-fi, or at least not the last time I tried.

Yes, the quality of the file they provide is horrible and blocky/pixelated. So much so I can never read the finished garment m'ments on any of the Simplicity, New Look, McCalls patterns I have purchased, on screen or on the printed pattern. Maybe the HP patterns would be different, I can't say. All I know is all the patterns I've downloaded in the past are horrible and often unreadable. Nothing like the .pdf patterns which are crystal clear.

Then there is this,
"Digital patterns will be available in your PrintSew.com account for 1 year after date of purchase. You are limited to printing the pattern file 3 times in that year period. Files are secured so they cannot be downloaded, only printed."

Mmm, so I can only print three times, and once the one year is up I can no longer access the pattern I purchased?

Yeah, I saw their announcement email too, and was disappointed to see that they were using printsew as their vendor. I've heard too many horror stories from folks here to use them (plus, last time I checked I don't think they even work on macs, which is ridiculous).

I hope those of you that are HotPatterns fans let them know that this is an issue, because they may not have any idea. I haven't bought an HP in a few years now so it would be disingenuous of me to say it makes a big difference to me personally. -- Edited on 2/9/13 1:21 AM --

Well, this was my first time using printsew and as I said above, you don't get 3 tries with paper patterns you buy, so I don't understand the expectations of being able to download forever. You pay less for it, you print it out once or twice and you're good. Or make photocopies?
For my first experience, I was totally impressed. I don't see anything wrong with the quality of the pattern I printed... sure the curved lines are made with dashes but it's still easy enough to cut out and perfectly legible. Customer service was fantastic; before I figured out to close and reopen my browser, I sent them a message, they sent me some tips, and later sent me a pdf (not saveable; only printable) so I can't fault that.
I agree, they are a little behind the times with their computer requirements... but I have a 64 bit Win7 machine that wasn't listed (don't use wireless printing) and it worked once I got the plug-in installed.
Just sayin' that if you like Hotpatterns, I wouldn't pass on this opportunity just because of some bad experiences of others. See for yourself.

You don't download forever with the other 3 epatterns I had experience with you OWN the .pdf file for good, just like an envelope pattern. Print whenever you want, any pages you want..any machine in the house you want if it's networked to the printer.

The only downside is to the creator..they have to trust in our good natures not to share the printable .pdf file with anyone else. I found it interesting that Collette's downloads actually has the purchasers name and email embedded in the .pdf file now...so there's a reminder to the conscience.

I sure as *ell won't pass around my .pdfs because I'm hoping the use of .pdfs will stay. I may sew the pattern for people other than myself, but I'm not going to give them the file. It's same way I treat a purchased envelope pattern. But then who's to say I can't trace off a size from one and give that to someone else anyway..so..any precautions can be worked around really, be it paper or digital. And then there's folks who know how to draft, but that's another can of worms. < : )

On a parting note, I'm glad to hear the line quality isn't awful on HP's digitals for those who want to give it a whirl. I'm just spoiled I guess.
Shel

Shona, it's good to hear the file for the HP patterns is good quality. One step in the right direction.

Since you have tried them, one question I want to know the answer to. What about the instructions? Are they printed as part of the pattern like the paper patterns, or are they a separate file? If they are part of the pattern, does the writing get cut in half over a page or are they arranged so they print on a whole page?

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